Royal Bank of Canada Raises Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Price Target to $82.00

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $81.00 to $82.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the information technology service provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $76.61.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $77.77 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $80.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.79 and its 200 day moving average is $71.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $38.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 28.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,254,178,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933,908 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $569,175,000 after acquiring an additional 101,078 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $406,360,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology.